The biennial event has a house, too, but no garage. And this year, alas, no cow

By Amanda Robbins

Albany Democrat-herald

This weekend, there's a garage sale on Peoria Road that has just about everything a person could want - including the kitchen sink.

It all started back in 1982, when eight families came together for a garage sale. Now 30 families, most from the mid-

valley, participate every other year.

This year, there are a few items people would not usually find at a garage sale.

One is a 1998 Cessna Skylane airplane. It is selling for $196,000 or best offer. The plane used to be owned by Robert Macpherson, but when he passed away in 2006 it was handed down to his son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Monica Macpherson.

"No one in the family flies," Monica explained.

The plane resides at the Corvallis Airport, but there will be photos available for interested buyers to look at, and the Macpherson family will be on hand to answer questions.

If a plane isn't up your alley, perhaps a house is. Owned by the Rohner family, the three-story home needs to be moved off their property quickly so a new house can be built in its place.

"Because of zoning, we can only have one house on the property," Dot Rohner said.

The house will be selling for $15,000 or best offer, and it will need to be moved off the property by the new owner. It's at the site of the garage sale, and the Rohners will show it to serious buyers during the event.

This is not the first year that odd things have been sold at this particular garage sale. About four years ago, a family sold a milk cow.

"The family who was thinking about buying the cow wanted to try it out first," said Betty Jo Smith, Rohner's mother. "So they took it home, made sure their kids liked the milk, and came back to pay for it."

Along with the sale, there will be concession stands run by the children of the participating families. Hot dogs, chips, licorice and drinks will be for sale.

"It is a good experience for the kids," Rohner said. "They get to meet the public and handle money."

If customers are not able to make the sale today, there will still be plenty of items available tomorrow, she said.

"A lot of families go home and bring more stuff for Saturday," Rohner said.

The garage sale, at 31868 Peoria Road, 41/2 miles off Highway 34, will close today at 6 p.m. It will be open again Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.